1. Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to vacuum cleaner accessory tools. In one of the aspects, the invention relates specifically to an accessory tool for use with a vacuum appliance, wherein the accessory tool is adapted to remove pet hair and fur from carpets, couches, drapes, curtains, and other fabric surfaces. In further aspects, the invention relates to a vacuum accessory tool that includes a means for self-cleaning of the brush, thereby resisting clogging and binding of the vacuum tool by pet hair during use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pet ownership in the United States is increasingly common, with many of these pets being dogs and cats. However, many of these pets tend to shed hair, which collects on carpets, furniture, and other areas of the home, as well as on clothing. This means that pet owners are then faced with the difficult task of removing pet hair from numerous surfaces throughout the household; a task made more difficult in that pet hair and similar debris can be relatively small or fine in nature, thus rendering it difficult to collect, even with conventional vacuum cleaners.
Often, ordinary vacuum cleaner attachments, even those touted as suitable for such specific uses as pet hair removal, do a poor job of removing pet hair, mostly because the pet hair becomes tangled or even interwoven with the fabric it is attached to. This means that the vacuum airflow alone is often insufficient to remove the pet hair from the article. Further, vacuum cleaners employing rotating or otherwise moving parts, such as rotatable agitators and air turbines, can easily accumulate pet hair or other similar debris at or in those moving parts. This is because the moving parts are often in the suction path of the vacuum, thereby impeding the operation and effectiveness of the vacuum cleaner.
One common solution to these problems has been to use a dedicated pet brush with rubber or rubberized bristles. These bristles are often shaped or sized so as to allow the bristles to more efficiently “grab” the hair, aiding in its removal from the fabric or article being cleaned. However, these types of vacuum accessory brushes accumulate collected hair, and then the brushes themselves have to be cleaned. This task is not only time consuming, but can be disagreeable in that it involves the user “picking” the hair out of the bristles manually. A variety of other approaches have also been described in an attempt to address this issue.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,777 to Frederick, et al. describes a turbine powered vacuum cleaner tool wherein a nozzle body encloses an agitator located adjacent an elongated suction inlet opening. A turbine rotor is rotatably connected to the nozzle body and operatively connected to the agitator so that airflow generated by a remote suction source flows through the nozzle body and rotates the agitator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,995 to Varon describes a brush for removing animal hair from carpeting and upholstery comprising a plurality of flexible bristles composed of polymeric materials that create an electrostatic charge to attract the animal hair to the bristles. As specifically described, a field of smooth tapered polyethylene bristles extend down from a head attached to a broom handle. The bristles are pulled through carpeting to pick up animal hair. The density of bristles at the trailing edge is greater than elsewhere, and the bristles are arranged in a saw-tooth leading edge pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,885 to Jones describes a brush having a base member, a plurality of flexible plastic bristles mounted to the base member, and a tubular adapter for connection with a vacuum cleaner to remove loose hair dislodged while brushing an animal. In an alternate embodiment, the brush comprises a mitt secured to a flexible base member to receive the hand of the operator.
German Patent Application Publication No. 2,100,465 to Schwab describes a floor accessory tool which is a floor sweeper apparatus with a horizontal brush driven by the rotation of ground-engaging wheels. Bristle pads are arranged on both sides of the brush and have bristles directed toward the rotating horizontal brush to aid in directing debris into the vacuum inlet of the tool.
These prior art solutions have several drawbacks for one or more of the reasons discussed above. For example, although each of these prior art solutions aim to remove debris from various surfaces, the solutions do not address eliminating the need to manually clean the vacuum or its attachments. It is therefore desirable for individuals to have a better solution for vacuuming pet hair and fur from carpets, couches, drapes, curtains, and the like while obviating the drawbacks associated with the prior art solutions discussed above. Accordingly, the inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to an apparatus, method, and system for a self-cleaning vacuum cleaner accessory that overcomes the problems set forth above.